On This Day in TV History: “Cosby Show” Debuts, 1984

The Cosby Show debuted on NBC TV on September 20, 1984. The show, starring Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad, was the biggest ratings winner in television history. It stayed perched as the #1 show in all of television for a full five years.

The show ran 201 episodes over 8 years. It also was a big hit and huge money maker in syndication. It made $1.5 billion dollars in syndication before all re-runs of The Cosby Show were pulled as a result of sexual misconduct allegations against Bill Cosby.